Chapter 162: The Hidden Unit

All.

“Brother, you are insufficient to protect Owen.”

“And are you sufficient?”

“Of course. I am the one suited for this chaotic era.”

Ieund Owen no longer sold the future. Instead, he began to move to create the future.

‘This is right. Though the start will be by following his methods…’

It was clear that he had learned from his previous failure.

If he hadn’t, the stubborn Ieund would have continued selling the future and gathering people.

Change leads to growth.

And the growth he achieved…

“Viscount Daileon has arrived.”

“Send him in.”

…brought about the growth of his faction.

Those who had stubbornly held their positions, those who refused to recognize the eldest son as the next Marquis Owen, began to seek him out.

The eldest son, whom Ieund had believed dead, had made a move that should not have been made.

‘He must have been desperate.’

As soon as he took control of House Owen, his first act was a purge.

He killed those who had followed his orders.

With enemies overflowing around them and House Owen now the weakest force, he deliberately disposed of his own strength.

It was an insane act.

Whether noble or commoner, when faced with death, people’s minds become sharp.

“We need to find a way to survive.”

To survive, some tried to surrender to Rayrn.

“The Marquis should have lived.”

Some longed for the past.

“At this rate… going to the capital might be better.”

“Perhaps it’s better for me to take over.”

Some new calculations emerged that had never existed before.

For them, the sudden reappearance of Ieund Owen was not just new—it was bound to bring great change.

Taking advantage of that moment, Ieund accepted and consolidated the factions.

He presented a new justification.

“It is war.”

“War again?”

Ieund called his life…

‘It’s war.’

…a battlefield of life and death.

Perhaps because he had spent his protected childhood on the battlefield, gambling with his life.

He led the gathered nobles as if inciting them.

“Enduring itself is war. House Owen must be reborn completely.”

“…Ieund Owen, you must remember clearly. We call you the Alliance Leader, but you are an empty scarecrow leader with nothing real. Can you really make it reborn like this?”

“I must do it.”

He had nothing but the title of the son of the Twelve Great Lords.

Even with those who would not have come if the eldest son had not gone mad, Ieund was overflowing with confidence.

“How? You have nothing. You have no price to pay us.”

“Yet you have gathered here. Because you cannot afford to lose more.”

“…”

“…”

At the edge of a cliff. He cleverly used the situation where they could no longer retreat.

For both the nobles and Ieund, only losses remained.

He used the gathered noble faction as his own power. He consolidated them, and boldly drove away those who did not follow, expanding his influence.

Naturally…

“…”

All.

“A messenger has sent word. He says he will only reveal who he is after seeing the Young Master.”

“Send him in.”

Even those who had held out to the end began to come under his command.

Sometimes…

“Die!”

Pwooook-

There were assassins targeting his life, but even when his arm was impaled by a sword,

“Another one of Brother’s foolish acts. How shallow can a man be?”

He showed a boldness that did not change his expression.

“Y-Young Master, are you alright?”

“You should call me Marquis. Now, what about those you brought this time?”

“I have gathered them all. But since they are commoners…”

“Don’t mind that. Did you not learn anything from Rayrn? If a commoner has ability, use them. Remember this. It is a time of change. If we fall behind House Ofern again, it will be the end.”

“…I will remember.”

In House Owen, which had been known for generations as foxes, a true beast, not a fox, was born.

Calmly.

But not slowly.

“Attack!”

Ieund Owen moved to integrate the remaining territories of House Owen.

His movements, which were quite successful,

“Bl-Block them!”

Created a situation that prolonged the chaos of House Owen even longer.

Although the war seemed to have ended, House Owen was still in turmoil.

Until the succession dispute was over, it was a commotion that would likely drag on for quite a while.

—

Meanwhile, sitting and observing all the information was Rayrn.

“The South is going well. Then the remaining side is the North.”

Using Arne of the Information Guild, he was fully grasping the surrounding situation.

Money was overflowing. House Ofern, which had only been poor on its land, was earning enormous sums from neighboring countries beyond the kingdom.

In that situation, how could the Information Guild be any different?

They even created a dedicated department for Rayrn, placing Arne at its head.

“It was fortunate to meet the Young Master, wasn’t it?”

“Then perhaps you could give me a discount on the commission fee.”

“Hehe, that’s too much. Instead, I’ll bring you reliable information.”

“If you keep your word… I’ll accept. However.”

“However?”

“We might obtain information on our own in the future. We can’t just keep pouring out commission fees forever, can we?”

“Is that a threat?”

“I’m saying you should think carefully when setting the commission fee.”

“I can’t handle you. I’ll report this to the higher-ups.”

Thanks to that, Arne was overjoyed at first, but after a few weeks, when the commission fee was lowered, she started to sulk.

Probably because the incentive that would go into her own pocket had decreased.

For Rayrn, who could now operate the Information Guild at a low cost…

‘This is why money is the best.’

It was a very satisfactory deal.

Rayrn continued to use the Information Guild.

He used it to track the movements of nobles from the nearby enemy countries, all the way to Owen, Gisert, and the entire kingdom.

In addition…

‘I need to train Sian more.’

He used Sian of the Iron Fist so that she could gather information using the family’s power.

Sian had already reached the level of transcendence. It would be strange if she did not become stronger with his help added.

“Phew… Huff.”

She was bound to be exhausted from the daily intensive training, but her eyes were the same as when she first started training.

It meant she was full of enthusiasm.

She managed to follow through the grueling training to the end.

“This should be about enough.”

“…Is that so?”

“Perfect. Congratulations on becoming the head of the hidden information organization, the shadow of the Iron Fist. Sian.”

Her stealth technique had reached a considerable level.

Equipped with magic weapons, she had risen to a level where only someone like Rayrn could barely sense her presence.

In other words…

‘There are only a handful of people who can catch her.’

She was the best as an informant. She had reached a level where she could even make a name for herself as an assassin if she wished.

Rayrn gathered her in a very quiet place.

He brought together people who would become her limbs and handle information.

The number was exactly one hundred. Specialists in stealth techniques within the Iron Fist, and among them, those with sharp minds were selected.

Under their watch…

“I appoint Sian as the unit leader.”

“…Thank you.”

Rayrn seated Sian as the unit leader and divided the hundred into those in charge of information.

A total of ten squads, ten squad leaders were created.

‘If the Black Crow handles inside the territory, these ones should handle the outside.’

The authority given to these ten was considerable.

They were given the authority to command not only the Iron Fist within House Ofern but also the Iron Fist sent outside.

Sometimes information power is stronger than financial power, so it was a natural measure.

“Now, shall I give you a new mission?”

“I will do well.”

“Of course. Now, move immediately.”

“Yes!”

To her, who became the hidden unit leader, Rayrn immediately handed over the mission he had in his pocket.

“…To Gisert?”

“The North needs to be noisy too.”

The mission area she was given was House Gisert in the North.

Gisert, who had been pushed into the North by Rayrn. He was causing a commotion to claim back Hellk Castle, but there was no immediate movement.

‘Because the link has weakened.’

He was not the same Gisert who reacted so extremely to his own power.

When the pulsating mana, the source of his power, was taken away, he was terrified. Whether that memory became a trauma, after that…

‘The movement of mana is unusual.’

He could feel that Gisert was adjusting new pulsating mana.

Rayrn was extracting and using House Gisert’s power in his own way. He could sense the change in Duke Gisert without being told.

If this continued, the link might close again.

It did not matter. Whenever he wanted, finding a way to use the altered mana would be easy.

But…

‘It’s obvious how he’ll move after that.’

The problem was Duke Gisert.

Believing he had regained his power, he would start moving again. He would struggle. That could not be allowed.

He had to completely bind him.

The most optimal person for that was Sian, who was looking at him with steadfast eyes.

“Birence will be waiting at Hellk Castle.”

“It’s been a while.”

“Yes. He will surely have finished the coordination. That kind of thing is easy for him.”

“Then I just need to go there and follow this mission?”

“Yes.”

As Rayrn nodded, Sian bowed her head.

Using her stealth technique, she moved.

Swooooo~

Following her, the squad members began to move, showing their will to complete their first mission and then disappearing.

‘She will do well.’

It was not long ago that he obtained information on House Owen in the South and sent Sian to the North.

‘By now… it should be time for news to come?’

Now. Although the war had ended, the aftermath was the problem.

Due to the prolonged battle, House Owen’s territory had long been devastated.

The places House Ofern had taken were mines and granaries.

The mines had been specially managed, so there was no damage. They had secured them from the beginning, so there was no shortage of workers.

The problem was the granaries.

‘All the people have disappeared. Some of the refugees who came into House Ofern will have to be sent back…’

They needed to farm, but there were no people to farm.

With land but no people, how could that be?

‘With money like this, it’s no use. I need to prepare a way to bring in people on a large scale.’

Refugees were trickling in, but it was still slow.

He had to find a way to speed things up.

‘The Royal Palace is also starting to move, so time is short. I need to act quickly.’

In addition, he had to revitalize the devastated areas and develop them simultaneously.

Integrating places that had been Owen land for over a hundred years into House Ofern was not easy.

So Rayrn even used his father, the Count, as a playing piece to carry out the work.

‘I wonder if he’s doing well.’

He couldn’t say for others, but he was trustworthy.

“Now then, next is…”

Just as he was about to move for the next step, he sensed new presences.

‘It’s done.’

It was another piece of news.